Bulgaria's finance minister, who was initially targeting rapid accession to the euro zone, has confirmed the country is in no hurry to adopt the single currency.
"We will not make any move toward the switchover in the next two years," Simeon Djankov told reporters in Vienna on Thursday.
The statement is in line with the opinion of local analysts, who have tried to tone down the cabinet's enthusiasm for adopting rapidly the common European currency, saying it makes more sense for the...
Bulgaria has registered an increase in its foreign direct investment in January-May 2012 year-on-year, according to the latest data of the Bulgarian National Bank released on Monday.
According to the Bulgarian National Bank's preliminary data, the foreign direct investment in Bulgaria for January - May 2012 increased by EUR 473.8 M (1.2% of GDP), compared to an increase of EUR 72.2 million (0.2% of GDP) for January – May 2011.
Bulgaria's attracted Equity Capital (acquisition/disposal of...
Bulgaria's Currency Board Is Super Stable
(Sofia, Jan 12) - "The currency board functioning in Bulgaria is super-stable," the monthly analysis of Raiffeissen Bank Bulgaria reads.
The experts have calculated that at the end of November 2012 the currency board's reserves amount to 15.1 billion euro, which is an increase by 2.2 million euro from a month ago.
The board's reserves have increased by 1.9 billion euro (14.4%) year-on-year, which is a surplus of about 89% to the minimum...
Wall Street legend and highly successful international investor, author and commodities expert, Jim Rogers has said he is considering investing in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria is among the few countries, in which he is considering investing right now, since they have made the most improvement since his latest trip around the world, the billionaire, currently based in Singapore, said in an interview for Gold Radio Cafй.
He joined the broadcast for a brief discussion on his new book "Street Smarts:...
Italian companies may be attracted in privatization projects, including for tourist sites, as well as concessions agreements and modernization schemes for airports, and construction and reconstruction of road and railway infrastructure in Bulgaria, according to Minister Bozhidar Lukarski.
Speaking Tuesday at the opening of an economic forum titled “Bulgaria and Italy: Together for Achieving Growth”, Lukarski pointed out that the trade and economic cooperation between Bulgaria and Italy...
“The opportunities OP Environment provides in the previous and the new programme periods establish prerequisites for a huge volume of work on designing and construction of ecological infrastructure as well as possibilities for the state to tackle challenges,“ said Ivelina Vasileva, Bulgarian Minister of Environment and Water, speaking at an annual conference themed “Strategic infrastructure and investments – Bulgaria and the Western Balkans“, FOCUS News Agency reported.
“In the...
Draft legislation approved by the Bulgarian Cabinet on Wednesday is going to allow the Sofia International Airport to determine its own airport fees, a measure that could lead to increase of plane ticket prices.
Sofia Airport will be determining its fees, and will coordinate them with air companies and land operators using its services, the Cabinet-approved legislation stipulates.
At present, the fees of the Bulgarian airports are determined by the Civil Aviation Administration, a...
Bulgaria's Vivacom telco has sold the last 50% of its transmission company NURTS to Bluesat Partners Ltd for an undisclosed fee.
In August 2010, Vivacom sold the other 50% of NURTS to Cyprus-registered Mancelord Limited.
Until now, NURTS was a joint venture between the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, rebranded as Vivacom, and Mancelord Limited.
NURTS is a key player in local terrestila analogue signal destribution, covering nearly all of Bulgaria with its network of radio and...
Italian engineering company D'Appolonia S.p.A. (D'Appolonia) has been appointed as new Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Advisor for the Nabucco Pipeline Project, effective from 1 June 2011.
The main purpose of D´Appolonia's appointment is to ensure the successful completion of an integrated project ESIA, fulfilling the requirements of the International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and complying with national and European legislation, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International...
The Bulgarian cabinet must speed up the administrative reform in helping the small and medium business, according to the Bulgarian EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva.
Georgieva, who is a former high-ranking World Bank official, said this business must be top priority because it is the most flexible and the fastest in creating new jobs.
"This is the right time for the cabinet to seek ways to help, to alleviate...
The large-scale industrial conversion of conventional cars into electric vehicles is expected to become Bulgaria's new major industry, a special report of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) has found.
The development of Bulgaria's electric vehicle industry is expected to experience a boom in 2012, Iliya Levkov, Chair of Bulgaria's Electric Vehicles Industrial Cluster (EVIC), has told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) in an exclusive interview.
EVIC, a 100% Bulgarian NGO designed to spur...
The Sofia City Hall is going to request to become the manager of the Sofia Central Park known as Borisova Gradina.
The news was reported by the Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, who visited Monday another one of the capital's parks – Geo Milev, to check on renovations there.
According to Fandakova, the transfer of the management will allow the City Hall to make more investments in the maintenance of the park, which is currently State property, and additional expenses will be paid for...
The Bulgarian government has launched the construction of an 8-km section of the Hemus Highway, which is supposed to connect Sofia and Varna through Northern Bulgaria.
The start of the construction was given by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev, and Varna Mayor Kiril Yordanov.
The 8 km section will be an extension in the western direction of the existing eastern section of the Hemus Highway running from Varna to...
Bulgaria has completed the first half of 2011 with a budget deficit of 0.9% its GDP, according to latest data from the Finance Ministry.
Thus, in January-June 2011, Bulgaria's deficit on cash basis under the government's Consolidated Fiscal Program amounted to BGN 652.1 M down from BGN 1.514 B in January-June 2010, a decrease by BGN 862.5 M (or 1.3 percentage points) year-on-year.
It is formed by a deficit under the national budget of BGN 455.9 M and a deficit under EU funds of BGN 196.2...
Bulgaria's touristic branch expects good results 2011, according to Blagoy Ragin, chair of the country's organization of hotel and restaurant owners.
However, this year's mistakes should be seriously analyzed, he told Darik radio, referring to the several fatal accidents which happened in Bulgarian seaside resorts in the peak of the season.
Most recently, a 13-year-old German girl died in Bulgaria's Black Sea resort Golden Sands after she was sucked in by the pump of a hotel swimming...
Bulgaria and Romania's economy ministers have discussed two large-scale hydro-energy projects on the Danube, whose future realization is said to harbor great economic potential.
Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov was received Monday in Bucharest by his counterpart, Romania's Minister of Economy, Commerce, and Business Environment Ion Ariton.
After Traikov and Ariton's meeting, Bulgaria's Economy Ministry has announced that in September 2011, the...
Bulgarian left-wing MP Rumen Petkov has rejected allegations that Lukoil participates in smuggling schemes.
In a Sunday interview for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), the socialist MP and former Interior Minister in the Socialist-led three-way coalition government in 2005-2008, opposed claims of Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov that inspectors would set foot in Lukoil for the first time, adding that Tanov had "a habit of lying".
Petkov said accusations that Lukoil was the main source of...
Fuel prices in Bulgaria has reached new highs after Lukoil Bulgaria announced new minor increases.
The wholesale price of the most widely use gas fuel A95 has reached BGN 2.52 per liter, up by BGN 0.04, while the diesel has hit BGN 2.51, after an increase of BGN 0.01 per liter.
While the latest increase announced Saturday is not substantial, since the beginning of July, Lukoil, which is the major refinery in Bulgaria, has hike prices by 0.15 per liter for gas, and 0.12 per liter for...
Luxembourg-based international logistics service provider Logwin has started a Bulgarian subsidiary with high hopes for the Bulgarian economy, according to a company statement.
Logwin formally set up its own national organization in Bulgaria on June 20, when it opened its first location in the country's capital Sofia in the logistics center at Sofia Airport Center, starting national and international transportation from Sofia, warehousing, value-added services as well as air and sea...
Some 400 000 British tourists will have visited Bulgaria by the end of 2011, Catherine Barber, current Charge d 'Affairs of Great Britain in the Balkan country' has stated.
Bulgaria is not considered a cheap destination among Brits, Barber has assured, denying statements that her compatriots are mainly attracted to the country by its cheap food and alcohol.
She said many Brits are interested in Bulgaria's cultural legacy, adding that environmental tourism in Bulgaria is gaining momentum....
A Spanish company presented in the capital Sofia several large-scale projects for new sports facilities.
The projects are for a new national stadium and two others – one also in Sofia and and one in the second largest city of Plovdiv.
The company has been invited to prepare the design by Bulgarian football legend and now Consul in Spain, Hristo Stoichkov, who was present at the event. Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, Sofia's Chief Architect, Petar Dikov, Regional Minister, Rosen...
The newly-appointed CEO of state-owned Bulgartransgaz company, a subsidiary of Bulgargaz, Kiril Temelkov will also be in charge of the Bulgarian firm for the realization of the Nabucco gas transit pipeline.
Temelkov is going to serve temporarily as the head of Bulgaria's "National Nabucco Company" until a suitable person is found to fill the position within the upcoming weeks, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, the Nabucco consortium, announced Friday.
"The Nabucco project is met...
The properties on sale in Bulgarian winter and ski resorts are continuing to go down, according to an analysis of Bulgarian Properties, a real estate agency.
The demand for fully furnished apartments in Bulgaria's three largest winter resorts – Bansko, Borovetz, and Pamporovo – remained low in the second quarter of 2011.
According to the agency, in Bansko, the largest Bulgarian winter resort, the average apartment sale price is EUR 27 000, with an average price of EUR 460 per square...
Nola 7, Bulgaria's leading spa company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with its Chinese partner Beijing LSJH, receiving green light to make a major step into the Asian country's market.
Thus, Nola 7 will become the first Bulgarian company whose spa and wellness facilities have reached China.
"We earned the trust of our partners from Beijing LSJH with our successful projects in more than eight countries in Europe, Asia and Africa," Ivan Tanev, Nola 7's CEO, said during the...
Five banks will offer loans on preferential terms to Bulgaria's business sector under the JEREMIE initiative.
On July 14, Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov signed guarantee agreements with EIBank, ProCredit Bank, Raiffeisenbank, United Bulgarian Bank and UniCredit Bulbank under the JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) initiative, allowing them to provide up to EUR 80 M in EU structural funds to Bulgarian small and medium-size...
Cultural and spa activities are considered the most attractive forms of tourism among the foreign tourists in Bulgaria, according to a poll conducted by Synesta Consortium.
In contrast, Bulgarians most frequently visit relatives or travel to the country during their summer breaks, the poll shows.
Foreigners spend between EUR 70 and EUR 90 per day on average in Bulgaria's resorts and usually stay 9-10 days, while locals spend just EUR 19-EUR 25 daily and stay 5-6 days.
Many foreigners...
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